Believe it or not, you can eat healthy when you have a busy lifestyle, but it does require some planning. For healthy meals on a daily basis, it's important to have nutritious ingredients to choose from; with a little preparation and planning the night or weekend before and a few minutes each day, you can throw it all together. Make a shopping list with specific meals in mind, chop extra onions, garlic and vegetables to store in the refrigerator for your next meal, and have storage containers available for packing up extras. Freezing portions will ensure that you have healthy options to choose from when you don't have time to cook.
Stock Up on Whole Foods
The key to healthy eating is consuming whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible. Whole foods eliminate a lot of preservatives, excess sodium, hydrogenated fats and other unhealthy substances that make foods last on the shelves for so long. Stock your pantry, freezer and fridge with whole foods that will make meals in minutes. Buy frozen chicken breasts, salmon fillets, ground beef and shrimp. Make sure your pantry has dried beans, seeds, nuts, rice, quinoa, millet and barley. Purchase fresh produce and dairy on a regular basis to keep in your refrigerator. Some of the healthiest foods to purchase, according to AskDrSears.com, are avocados, garlic, onions, broccoli, kale, fish, lentils, beans, shitake mushrooms, spinach, strawberries, apples, and blueberries.
Healthy Beginnings
Start your busy day with a healthy breakfast, thereby influencing the rest of your meals. AskDrSears.com offers several breakfast ideas, as well as the science behind a healthy breakfast. When you're busy, you want foods ready to grab and go in the morning, like granola and fruit in yogurt or a smoothie with frozen fruit, yogurt, flaxseed, peanut butter and tofu. Other options are low-fat cheese on toast with fruit, hard-boiled eggs with toast and fruit, or oatmeal with fruit, nuts, seeds and a low-fat or non-dairy milk. If you happen to make whole grain pancakes, waffles or french toast over the weekend, make extra to freeze. These foods thaw quickly in a toaster oven for a healthy and tasty breakfast on the run.
Think Leftovers for Lunch
Planning healthy lunches each day may feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Dinner can inspire your lunches. Simply make extra of whatever you've preparing for dinner, whether salmon fillets, soup or salad fixings. When it's time to pack lunch, you'll have leftovers to choose from. Store soup in single-serving containers, and package dinner leftovers in single-serving portions as well. If you're preparing a salad, cut up lots of vegetables and store them separately so that you can toss another salad together easily. Steamed vegetables from the night before can easily be added to your lunch, as can raw vegetables with hummus.
Plan Ahead
Before you go to bed, plan your meals for the next day or the next few days. By planning ahead, you can remove food from the freezer to thaw or soak beans and grains for faster cooking the next day. You can also chop vegetables ahead of time for meals, so no matter what time you come home the following evening you can throw something together. Some simple, healthy dinner ideas are brown rice, broiled salmon and steamed broccoli; black bean soup with a side salad; and baked chicken breast with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans. Include as many vegetables as possible with dinner, use low-fat dairy, substitute broth for oil, and steam vegetables to make meals even healthier.
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